


Zenith Of Your Kind

by introvertedgalaxy



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-02-26 12:17:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13235586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/introvertedgalaxy/pseuds/introvertedgalaxy
Summary: "If I wished it, you would die your final death. But I won't. Why? Because I'm in love."Emperor Calus has overthrown a corrupt government, fought off various alien threats, had a son, lost everything he worked for in a single night, and works to reclaim what was stolen from him.Selena has killed a prince and a king, uncovered a lost past, had a father, lost everything she knew in a single night, and has finally killed the man who took everything away from her.Both are prideful beings who claim to not fear each other but soon fear the feelings that start to develop between them.





	1. Chapter 1

_“_ _Never ask for anything! Never for anything, and especially from those who are stronger than you. They'll make the offer themselves, and give everything themselves”_

 

* * *

 

She couldn’t believe she missed his stupid ugly head and shot his goblet instead.

Once her fireteam got to the throne room, Tamino suggested that she’d use one of her smoke bombs to become invisible, get to a hidden area, and kill him instantly with her sniper rifle while her fireteam would keep him distracted. It was a decent last minute plan, Selena got to a pillar way back in a corner while her teammates humored Emperor Calus, crouching down so he couldn’t see her. After reloading her sniper rifle from the last fight, she aimed directly at Calus’ head, finally shooting after being shown the perfect moment.

But the emperor lifted the goblet to his mouth, leaning back to take a swig of whatever he was drinking, and the hunter shot his drink right out of his hand. The goblet tumbled down and rolled to Tamino’s feet, a shimmering purple liquid slowly spilling out, and the awoken warlock slowly looked back up to Calus, glad that he had his helmet on or he’d see how panicked he looked. Enraged, Calus summoned his cabal warriors and all hell broke loose from there on out.

The fireteam shot and killed at any cabal who fired at them, but the numbers were too overwhelming as psions and war beasts filled the room, all with the intent to kill. However, Selena noticed that the more they shot at Calus, the more stranger he looked. The skin at his face was peeling, and underneath a gray metal glistened in the light, and his eyes glowed a red light. The more they shot, the more his metal frame showed.

Once Calus fell, the cabal forces quickly retreated back into the rooms they came out of, as if they were never engaged in battle. Calus- no, _the robot_ had sparks coming out and convulsed from damage. Selena inched closer it, aiming her shotgun at him in case he tried anything.

“Everything you know is a lie,” it spoke ominously. “There is a truth beyond of what your people and your Speaker have told you. I can take you to that truth, if you seek me out. These gifts are a reminder of my word. Emperor Calus has spoken.” And the machine finally shut down.

An entrance opened up in the middle of the center platform, and before they entered, the fireteam summoned their ghosts to heal them up quietly. It wasn’t until one of the members, an exo titan, Ash-11, finally broke the silence.

“Hey uh, no offense, but if that gift he gives us is shit, I will hunt him down and shove the “truth” up his ass.”

Tamino snorted, trying to hide a chuckle, and soon the rest of the fireteam laughed along, not at the joke, but mostly at the relief of being alive for another day. Pamina, an awoken titan, took her helmet off to wipe the sweat off her forehead, while Laurel and Aurora-2 sat down to take a break. The exo hunter sprawled herself on the floor out of exhaustion while the human warlock sat cross legged, peering up at Selena.

“Ok but when you used shadow shot and tethered all those war beasts and had Tamino electrocute them with arc lighting? Made lots of orbs with that move. Was that planned?”

Selena and Tamino stayed silent for a few moments.

“It wasn’t planned was it?”

“Not really.” Tamino admitted, and after a few moments of rest, Aurora-2 sprang back up to her feet.

“Ok but are we gonna check out that hole in the middle or what? Hope that gift he promised us is cool.”

“That gift better be cool for all the trouble we went through!” Pamina threatened. “I swear if I see another one of those stupid war beasts…”

“Yeah yeah you’ll hunt down every single cabal on this ship or something, can we go now?”

Selena chuckled at Aurora-2’s whining, but couldn’t shake off the feeling of anxiety of the recent fight. She didn’t dare look back at the recently destroyed robot, and shuddered at the fact that it would spring back to life at any moment. Without another word, she walked over to the opening in the platform and jumped in, the rest of her fireteam following her in. She landed gently and spotted a long dark hallway and proceeded to treat carefully, shotgun raised in case any more surprised happened to them. The doors at the end opened slowly, a bright light shining through, and reaching the end they saw-

“What the fuck.” Ash-11 voiced in utter confusion.

Hundreds of robots, all which were the spitting image of Emperor Calus.

“Ok, anyone wanna explain to me why the hell would a powerful ruler have that many robot copies of themselves?” Aurora-2 asks, peering up at the robot copies in both amusement and nervousness.

“Man, talk about vanity…” Laurel eyed each robot, scout rifle drawn in case any of them made a move.

At the end of the hallway was a great chest decorated in gold and silver. The fireteam ran over to it once they spotted it, Ash-11 being the one to open the chest. Inside was a variety of weapons and armors. Ash-11 reached out to grab a rocket launcher until his hand was lightly smacked away by Tamino.

“Now my dear, be patient. Selena, since you were the one who led us to victory I figured that you should be the first to pick something from here. Are there any objections?” The rest of the fireteam started to mutter a bit and Tamino sighed. “Fine, fight each other for a gun like a bunch of animals!”

Immediately, the group started pushing and shoving to get the weapons and armor they wanted the most. Aurora-2 and Selena both grabbed a cape from the chest and glanced up at each other.

“You take it,” Selena said as she released the cape.

“No, Selena you take it! Like Tamino said, you’re the leader and you deserve something nice.”

“Aurora you fought just as hard as everyone else, you deserve it as much as I do. Besides, I think it’s ugly.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No I’m- alright look,” Selena yanked the cape out of Aurora-2’s hand and began to inspect it. “The gold is a really nice touch at the beginning and the black and white patterns nice so far but,” she gestured to the end of the cape with slight distaste. “It starts to go inward here and I hate it when capes do that. Reminds me of a table runner. You keep it.”

“Uh, you describing how ugly the cape is didn’t really help.”

“Aurora-”

“Fine! Fine. I’ll keep it,” Aurora-2 grabbed her cape back. “Maybe I’ll sell it or something…”

Selena chuckled and turned back to the chest, the only thing there being a pair of white boots with intricate gold designs on the side. She lifted them up, showing them off to her fireteam. “Seems like I’m left with the scraps!” She laughed and inspected them closely. “Not that bad actually, details pretty nice, good material. Alright, looks like we’re done here, let’s get the hell out of here before anything else happens to us.”

And as the group walked away from the chest, and although all the robot copies were still dormant, Selena couldn’t help but feel that they were all staring down at her.

* * *

“No offense but this is kinda dumb.” The ghost swiveled its shell in annoyance, floating next to Selena, who was currently flying her ship to a set destination. “Actually this _really_ dumb! Why are we going back to that cabal ship of all places?”

“Listen, Calus said something about how there’s some “greater truth” out there. He obviously knows something we don’t know, and I’m gonna find out what it is.” Her ghost sighed.

“Look, normally I wouldn’t be worried about you doing stuff like this, but you’re going against an emperor-”

“Ex-emperor actually,” Selena corrected. “Ghaul overthrew him years before the Red War.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s less dangerous! Remember all the damage his robot did to our fireteam? Imagine what the real deal can do.” Selena sighed, tapping her finger on the steering wheel.

“Polaris,” She began. “I have to know whatever secret Calus is holding out on us. The guardians, the city, we’ve been through so much over the last decades. I want us to stop living in constant fear. I want this whole war against the darkness to end. If negotiating with a war mongering emperor behind the vanguards backs will give us a step forward to defeating the darkness then I’m willing to take that chance.”

Polaris sighed. “I just don’t want anything bad happening to us, I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”

“Nothing bad is gonna happen to us, we’ve been through so much worse than this.”

“I know that! But-”

Selena lifted a steady hand from her steering wheel and pushed Polaris a little closer to her, giving a little kiss on his top cone. “Nothing bad is gonna happen, I promise. I’m not going in guns ablazing, I’m gonna be professional about this.”

“Alright...I trust you. You’ve always been rather professional when you need to be.”

Finally arriving above the giant cabal ship, Selena and North transmitted down to the deck.

“Alright, let’s get to business!”


	2. Chapter 2

This was proving to be a bit harder than she anticipated.

Once Selena landed the first thing she noticed was that there was no one on the deck compared to the last time she was here. No cabal soldiers lined up at the edges to intimidate her and her companions with their lack of response to any of their actions. Well, Aurora-2 shot one of them by accident and they responded with the intent to kill. Understandable.

Arriving at the main door there were two cabal legionaries guarding it, both wearing elegant purple and gold colored armor. The legionnaires stared down at Selena, looking at her questionably. “Do you wish to partake in Emperor Calus’ challenge?” One of them asked.

“On no!” Selena raised her hands up in defence. “Just wanted to have a look around if that’s alright.”

“You can’t enter unless-”

“Just let her go in.” The other legionnaire spoke up.

“But Ma’athuun! We-”

“Look at her boots you fool,” The one named Ma’athuun said, pointing his rifle at Selena’s newly acquired footwear. “She has already done the Emperor’s challenges and won, and she only came alone. If she wants to dawdle on the ship then let her.” The other cabal huffed and glanced back at the hunter.

“Fine, you may enter.” The soldiers stepped aside, allowing her access to the opulent ship once more. As Selena entered through the doorways she could’ve sworn she heard one of them whispering how someone “wanted to see her anyways.” She wanted to stay behind and ask them what they meant, but after seeing how Ma’athuun vouched for her when that other soldier _really_ didn’t want her to enter, it was best to not push her luck. Not by a lot at least.

The main section of the ship was just as lavish as the last time, except it wasn’t as empty. Cabal warriors weaved in and out through the many marble buildings and pillars, all having some golden detail to them. All of them didn’t seem as if they were in a rush, and the atmosphere reminded Selena of the Tower.

North materialized out of thin air. “It’s called a castellum, it’s like a Roman fort. Usually they’re fairly small but this one's enormous!”

Selena took her helmet off and rubbed her temple. “Alright. North, you were right.”

“Oh am I?”

“This is...dumb.”

“Told you! I mean honestly how can you expect to find one guy in a giant planet eating ship?”

“I know! This is dumb, I’m sorry.”

“Exactly. Now that we’re on the same page, let’s go home!” North began to hover back to the entrance.

“What? No way!” Selena pulled him back and turned him around so they were facing each other. “North you _gotta_ help me. We need to find out what this guy’s secret is, it could help us! I promise I won’t do anything dumb.” North wriggled out of her hand and sighed.

“Fine...scanning ship.” North extended his shell, releasing a brilliant bright blue light. “Huh…”

“What?”

“Ships way too big to do a complete scan, but there’s a tower in the middle of the castellum. If you take me to the top I might be able to make a complete scan.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

* * *

 

“For the last time no!”

“C’mon! Don’t be a dick!”

After maneuvering through crowds of cabal soldiers and luxurious buildings, the pair finally reached the tower. The only thing standing between her and her goal was rather large and incredibly stubborn guard.

“Human, I have stated numerous times that this tower is strictly off limits. Not just to intruders like _you_ but to regular soldiers as well.” The guard reaffirmed, arms crossed and beady brown eyes glaring at her for being such a nuisance.

“Ok but I just need to be on the top for only a few seconds and they I’ll be out of your hair-uh -way forever, I swear!”

“You’re not getting access to this tower not matter how much you plead, go fool around some-”

 _Beep beep beep_.

The guards headpiece started beeping and he turned away from her. “Yes...yes of course...I’ll be right there sir.” The guard turned to Selena. “When I come back you better be gone or I’ll throw you off the ship myself.” He turned back and walked into the tower, closing the door. Selena waited a few seconds before trying to open it and realized it was locked, cursing and stomping her foot in frustration and turned to North.“Great, now what?”

“We could always go home.” The hunter glared at her ghost. “What? We literally have no other options, unless you wanna climb it.”

“You’re probably- Oh...oh by the Traveler, North you’re a genius!”

“What?”

“Can you summon four daggers and some tape?” North did as he was told, materializing the objects out of nowhere and let them fall to the floor. Selena scrambled to get the daggers, taping two to the bottom of her boots, the last two daggers in her hand. The huntress walked up to the side of the tower, sizing it up.

“Ok, that’s actually a pretty clever idea. But you-” With enough force, Selena dug her dagger into the building, piercing it. “...can’t just stab a metal building. Nevermind then.” The huntress kept stabbing into the building, each time she did she managed to climb higher and higher, until she reached the window. She left her daggers hanging into the building and climbed onto the ledge, body leaning against the window.

“Alright, perfect. North can you begin the scan?”

“Uh, S-Selena?” He stammered.

“What?”

“You ought to look in front of you…” North warned before dematerializing away.

And she did, looking through the window and seeing the Cabal guard and Emperor Calus staring at her with an absolutely dumbfounded look on their faces.

* * *

 

“Primus Zho’ourn.”

“Yes sir?”

“The guardian’s at my window.”

Primus Zho’ourn sighed. “Yes. Yes she is sir.”

The guardian was talking to her ghost before she peered into the window, and went from looking rather amused and pleased until she realized who’s window she was leaning up against. The guardian stared at Calus for a few seconds, paralyzed by...fear? Uncertainty? Then she lifts her hand, knocks on the window twice and mouthed, “Can I come in?”

It took all of Calus’ power to not burst into laughter from the sheer stupidity of it all.

The emperor walked over to the window and opened it, sliding it to the right, and held out his hand for her to grab on. The guardian stared at his hand, hesitating for a bit, then laid her hands on his index finger and gripped. Calus lifted his hand while the guardian dangled there, bringing her inside his office, letting her drop to her feet.

“Primus Zho’ourn?”

“Yes sir?”

“You wouldn’t mind giving me a few moments of privacy would you?”

“Of course not my emperor, I’ll take my leave.” Primus Zho’ourn gave one final glare at the guardian and left the room. An awkward silence filled the air, and for a moment Calus wasn’t sure what to do with the guardian who just stubbornly climber up his tower until she gave him a deep bow.

“Emperor Calus,” She spoke. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’m the guardian who led the final assault on Dominous Ghaul, and the one who led the strike team during your trials.”

He knew that. Of course he would know what Ghaul’s killer looked like. The minute his men told him that one of the stragglers of that pitiful city regained its light and was leading assaults on Ghaul’s men, he wanted daily updates of its actions and every bit of information they can find on it. However his men could barely find anything, only that she used the void as an instrument of destruction.

Calus stared down at the guardian, who was still bowing. “Your name?”

The guardian hesitated for a moment. “Selena. Selena Sotello.”

“And why are you here Selena Sotello? You may stop bowing by the way.”

The guardian stopped and stood up straight, dark eyes forced to make contact with his. Looking rather agitated it took a deep breath.

“After my battle with your robot you...you mentioned something about a greater truth. A truth that my former superior was either hiding or didn’t know. I wish to know what that truth is.” Of course that’s why she’s here.

“Hm...and when you snuck into my office despite my best bodyguard ordering you, did you really think I was just simply going to tell you?” Calus circled around it while the guardian stood still, legs locked in place, eyes looking forward, absolutely not a single emotion displayed in her face. But Calus knows she’s scared, he could practically _feel_ her heart racing from fear. “Well no matter, I suppose this was expected. After all, from the reports I’ve read you guardians are terribly curious creatures. Did you know, that there’s a belief among your enemies that if you draw a circle in the ground, 2 to 4 guardians will show up and sit inside? Fascinating.” He continued to circle around her, like a lion cornering it’s prey, and Selena couldn’t help but feel nervous- no she wasn’t nervous. Nervous was too simple of a word. Skittish? Anxious?

_Afraid._

“Well, normally I wouldn’t forgive a transgression such as this one. If any of my enemies just broke into my office I’d kill them on the spot. But I’m kind, I’m benevolent. I’ll let you live. Afterall it’d be such a waste to simply kill off someone who offed that _problem_ for me. As a kind and benevolent god I’ll let you go.”

Selena blinked. “God?”

“Yes, a god”

“You’re...a god?”

“Yes.”

Slowly her face contorted from one of confusion to glee and she burst into laughter right in front of Calus, who stopped circling her. She clutched her stomach in joyous pain. “I’m-I’m so sorry!” She spoke through laughter. “It’s just- you called yourself a god! A _god_!”

“And why is that fact so humourous to you?” Calus asked, who was still strangely calm.

Selena stopped laughing, finally calming down after a few seconds and wore a more serious expression. “Because, I’ve come face to face with gods and I’ve killed them with my own two hands. I’ve spent months wandering in the darkest corners of the galaxies, killing their most powerful minions just to find them. And when I fought them I felt fear, oh how I felt fear. And when they were seconds away from dying I made sure I let them know before they faded away into nothingness that they fell by my hands, the hands of a _human_.”

“You? I felt no fear. I’ve faced beings larger and far more frightening than you with much higher stakes. You don’t scared me.”

She should’ve been dead the minute those words left her lips, but here she was, back straight, head help up high, dark eyes glaring at the most powerful being in the universe at the moment. Calus gazed back at the guardian and smirked. “You’re lying.”

“I’m _not_ lying! Now either we glare at eachother like a couple jackasses or you tell me whatever the hell you’re hiding _or_ you throw me out of your office yourself.”

“Fine.” In one swift move, Calus grabbed a startled Selena, who began to thrash around in his hand while yelling (what seems like) obscenities in a language he didn’t know. He sauntered over to the window that the guardian climbed in and reopened it. “Well, it’s been a pleasure, but I have a lot of paperwork to do and you being in my office making outrageous demands and taunting me isn’t going to help me finish. I don’t doubt that you’ll be back tomorrow so just a little suggestion,” And he brought her closer to his face, his light brown eyes peering down at her and Selena couldn’t help but stare agape at him. “Quit trying to piss me off.”

Calus then throws Selena out of the same window she came in, like a pitcher throwing a baseball. Once he could no longer hear her screaming, he closes the window and walks back to his desk. Sitting back down, he returns to his paperwork, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAHHHH I'm back!!! Couple things: I got a new job! so ive been a bit busy and im starting school next monday so i think updates are gonna take a while. BUT I WONT GIVE UP ON THIS FIC!!


	3. Chapter 3

Tevis Larson is a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel.

Tevis Larson _was_ a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel.

All of the hunters knew this of course. Whenever he and Cayde played poker, it would usually end with Tevis winning by a slim margin, Cayde complaining but giving up the amount of glimmer they betted, Tevis revealing that he was cheating all along, the disgruntled exo demanding his glimmer back, and Tevis giving back Cayde’s money and promising to give those cool boots he borrowed from him back.

Tevis usually didn’t keep his promises but it didn’t really matter in the end.

Selena didn’t like playing poker (it was too complicated for her she said!) but she liked watching hunters, titans, and even warlocks sometimes play against each other for money, loot, and favors. The first time she caught Tevis cheating, he was slipping a card into his sleeve while the unlucky hunter playing against them wasn’t looking. Tevis looked up and made eye contact with Selena, giving him a knowing smirk, and throughout the rest of the game she could tell that Tevis was more and more nervous.

The game ended. Tevis showed the poor hunter he was cheating all along and gave their money back.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked after the hunter left.

“Didn’t really see what I can gain from it.” She shrugged.

Tevis sized Selena up, taking in her answer. “Alright then.” He said, accepting her response and walking away.

The next day, Selena spotted Tevis sitting by himself and she sat right next to him. “Play uno with me!” Tevis scoffed.

“Kid I’m decades old, you think I wanna play uno with you. If this was poker then that’s a different story.”

“Poker’s too hard and way too boring. Uno’s a way better game.” Tevis stared at the colorful cards in her hand and sighed.

“Alright fine, but we gotta bet on something so this doesn’t end up being a waste of my time.”

“Fair enough, 50 glimmer?”

“70, then we got a deal.”

* * *

 

He threw her out. He _literally_ threw her out.

Selena twisted her body and used her powers to bounce once in mid air to slow herself down, and just before her feet would hit the floor with a loud thud, she jumped in mid air once again, her feet landing gently on the deck. Polaris appeared out of thin air besides her and even though he didn’t have a face she could tell he was furious.

“I-”

“You promised me!” He shouted and Selena couldn’t help but flinch at his angrily pitched voice. “You told me you were gonna act professional and one of the first things you do is insult him! Seriously? This guy is so powerful he’s tearing Nessus apart as we speak and converting the soil into _wine_ and you practically tell him he’s weak? Selena what the hell!”

Selena couldn’t help but wince at Polaris’ harshness. “Look I did try to be polite but,” she gestured the castellum’s gate. “That guy was a total prick! All that “Oh look at me I’m so powerful I’m practically a god” talk was just so dumb considering I’ve faced _and_ killed things scarier than him of all people.”

“I don’t mean to burst your bubble Selena but you didn’t even do those things by yourself. Remember Crota? Tamino was the one who got the answers to all those puzzles from Eris and he figured out the thing with his swords _and_ was the one coordinating all the attacks. Oryx? The only reason we didn’t die permanently was because once again Tamino was smart enough to figure out how to defeat him. And Aksis? Ash and Aurora had an entire history dealing with SIVA. And Ghaul-” Selena visibly flinched at that name and North/Polaris immediately stopped his ranting.

“I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have brought him up like that. We- I mean you’re still recovering from all _that_ and…” Polaris sighed. “I’m sorry, I’ll try not to bring him up so suddenly next time.” Her ghost floated over to Selena and nuzzled against your cheek.”

“It...It’s fine. I’m gonna have to get over it sooner or later.” She leaned her head against Polaris, sighing. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let my pride overcome me.” Selena gazed back up to the castellum, all the way to the tallest tower, thinking that Calus must still be up there writing whatever was so important to write. “It’ll be fine, I’m trying again tomorrow.”

The next day Selena marched right up to the base of the tower as Zho’ourn was just exiting the building, examining several documents so intensely that he was just about to step on her.

“Hey watch it!” She yelled. Zho’ourn looked up and tried to find whoever the voice belonged to. “Uh, I’m down here!” She waved her arms to get the Primus’ attention until Zho’ourn finally found her and glared.

“Why have you come back here human?”

“Same reason why I was here yesterday. Are you gonna let me through or am I gonna have to climb the tower again?” Zho’ourn rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“If you wish to anger the emperor and risk your life once more then so be it, I have much more pressing matters to attend to.” The Primus stomped away, leaving behind a puzzled Selena.

“Huh, that was actually easier than expected.” She said as Polaris materialized beside her.

“I can’t believe he’s letting us in just because he doesn’t wanna bother with us. I mean that’s actually pretty relatable but still.”

“I didn’t think we’re _that_ annoying,” She countered as the pair walked inside the tower. “I mean, we probably pissed off the two most important people on this ship-”“Probably? We? That was all you, and you definitely pissed them off.”

“Ok fine, I pissed them off. You happy?” Selena huffed, but she knew Polaris was right. While Calus had a god complex bigger than actual gods, she knew that mocking him right off the bat wasn’t gonna get her what she wanted, and that _maybe_ she did deserve being thrown out the window. But today’s a new day, and with each passing day a person can learn more and grow from their mistakes, and today’s the day she’s gonna be professional but firm with her requests.

Upon entering the tower there was a short golden hallway with an ivory lining and a shiny floor that led to what appears to be an elevator. Selena pressed the little button shaped like an arrow going up and the doors immediately opened. The inside of the elevator was just, if not even more, fancy than outside. The walls were golden with intricate silver decorations in the shape of spirals and flowers, and the floor and ceiling were made of mirror that reflected the appearance of anyone inside. After pressing the button to the highest floor, Selena couldn’t help but stare in awe at how decorated this single room was.

The doors opened with a small ding, and Selena slowly entered Calus’ office, and the man himself was writing away on his desk.

“Zho’ourn I thought I-” Calus looked up, his light brown eyes meeting Selena’s and he stopped writing. “Oh, you’re back.” He said in a slightly surprised tone, and Selena didn’t know whether to feel relieved, confused, or scared at the fact that he wasn’t angry. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and gave a respectful bow.

“Emperor Calus.” She greeted. The cabal emperor nodded politely and Selena took that as a sign that she may stop.

“I knew throwing you, quite literally, out of my office wasn’t going to be enough to make stop coming, but I’m quite surprised you’re here this early.”

The hunter gulped nervously, her heart beating faster with each passing second of silence. “I had to come back,” She croaked out, causing the emperor to raise an eyebrow. “I had to,” She said once more because the first time sounded pathetic and weak and so beneath her. “Listen, we got off on the wrong foot, obviously. I insulted you when I felt that my pride was injured and it was foolish of me to let my feelings overwhelm me. So… I’m sorry.”

It was probably one of the most weakest apologies that she’s ever made, and truth to be told, Selena wasn’t _that_ sorry. While insulting a ruler was an extremely bad move it wasn’t something she regretted. But if she was gonna be some kind of informal diplomat and get the information she wanted the first she has to do is act like a diplomat, and an apology (although a weak one) was a start.

To her amazement, Calus seemed to buy it. “Insulting me was an incredibly grave mistake you made, however I’m pleasantly surprised to made some effort to form an apology.” Selena silently sighed in relief. “However, I know you didn’t apologize just because you felt you did something wrong.” He teased, and Selena had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“Yeah… yeah I was getting to that. I really am sorry for insulting you,” She lied. “But you throwing me out the window isn’t going to stop me from getting the information that I need,” She said boldly as she began to sit cross legged on the carpet floor. “Throw me out of as many windows as you want, I’m not stopping until I get what I want.”

Calus huffed as he returned to his writing. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

It was like a mini tradition between them now. Selena would stubbornly sit either in a corner of his office (or right beside his desk if she was feeling brave), sometimes Zho’ourn would come in for paperwork and updates and they would glare daggers at each other, sometimes she’d fall asleep due to the sheer boredom of sitting down doing nothing. But by the time it was time for Calus to rest, he’d pick her up, open the windows and throw her out.

It’s been like that for a week, but to her it felt like a month had passed. Selena swears that Calus isn’t as forceful with his throwing as the first time, and she swears that sometimes he even hesitates waking her up. Sometimes she’ll catch herself feeling that she doesn’t mind being thrown out the window anymore, but she’d sooner die than admit that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh jeez i didnt mean to,, fuckin make everyone wait for a month for a new chapter, sorry about that!! its a short fic this time with not a lot going on except some selena lore but next chapter a new oc will be introduced and some good calus interactions, and hopefully by chapter 5 all the good stuff starts.
> 
> also not to be some kind of dumbass but the chapter notes for ch 2 also included the chap notes for ch 1 and i dont know how to get rid of that or fix it, i dont even know if the same will happen with this chapter
> 
> anyways its 1 am and imma sleep remember to like and subscribe if you want more content like this on my youtube channel
> 
> Edit: i figured it out!! Im a fool!!! Also i forgot to mention that Selenas ghosts North got a name change to Polaris. Theres a reason why he was named North/Polaris but one of them was because i wanted everyone to know this was the Nolan North ghost instead of an oc but now Polaris is just a whole nother deal now (also its a cooler name)


	4. Chapter 4

“Beatrice Noriega is probably the most religious woman I’ve ever known, a close second to the Speaker.” Tevis said, taking another bite out of his burger as Selena listened intensely, eating some of his fries. “Always talking about how we should pray a little everyday to give thanks to the Traveler. Talks about ancient Golden Age religions and cultures she remembers from her last life, knows a lot about them. Hell, she even knows about _pre_ Golden Age cultures, centuries before the Traveler was found.”

“She’s been alive for centuries before the Golden Age began?” Selena asked, mouth full of fries.

“What? No! Human lifespans didn’t get longer until _after_ the Traveler was found. I swear, you lot are coming out greener and greener by the year.” Tevis said, snickering. “No, this was stuff she learned throughout the years. Says she remembers almost ever Golden Age detail, was alive for most of it ‘till…” Tevis stayed silent for a moment, taking an unusually long time to wipe some of the ketchup from his face. “Till the Collapse.”

Selena stopped eating for a second and inched closer towards him. “What happened?”

“Lot of people died, that’s what happened.” The older hunter sighed, staring off into the sunset the pair was sitting in front of. Selena could tell he was reliving old memories, bad ones, and as much as she wanted to ask she kept silent until he spoke again. “Anyways, she got revived by her ghost in the Cosmodrome in the early years, was a guardian during a lot of things. Was there during the battle of Six Fronts and the Twilight Gap. She was _certainly_ there for all that crap with Osiris.”

“Who’s Osiris?”

“Actually, you know what?” Tevis said as he stood up to stretch, then grabbing the trash he left. “That’s enough stories for today. I’m tired, plus you got your first patrol tomorrow.”

Selena pouted. “Yeah...yeah. Beatrice invited me and a bunch of other people I don’t know. Think we’re gonna go after a group of Fallen that’s been messing around somewhere.”

“Hunting party? And _I_ didn’t get an invite? Wow, thought me and Bea were friends.” He said in fake shocked tone. “Maybe I’ll crash her little party tomorrow, how ‘bout it?”

“Please! I don’t know any of the other people we’re going with, and it’s my first time in the wilds and the only person I know is Beatrice. Please come!”

“Alright alright, fine I’ll go. Thought us hunters were _supposed_ to enjoy being alone.” He smirked and ruffled her hair like she was his own daughter. “But listen, sooner or later you’re gonna have to be by yourself, I know it seems kinda scary at first but you’re new, you’ll like being by yourself eventually.” And when the day where Selena was the loneliest she’s ever been, she realized that it was the biggest lie she’s ever been told.

* * *

 

7th time she’s been thrown out his window, 7th time she landed on her feet, and the 7th time she looked up at his tower from afar and cursed at herself for not getting any new information this time.

“That’s the 7th time you’ve flown over the castellum.” An unknown voice said while chuckling.

Selena whipped her head around to see who was laughing at her and met face to face with a common Cabal soldier. This one, like all the other ones she’s seen had the same white and gold armor with purple trims and had its very own shield. It, like all the cabal she’s faced were taller than her, somewhere around 6 feet and 5 inches. The only thing different about it was that it had tusks, and Selena remembered that either someone told her or she read it somewhere that cabal that had tusks were female.

“7th time? Ah, wasn’t keeping track of it. Times I’ve been thrown out the window I mean.” She lied, not really knowing why she would lie over something so small.”

“Understandable. If you don’t mind me asking what have you been doing each day to make him so mad to throw you out his window?”

Selena felt her cheeks flush a little. “Oh, uh, it’s like a deal I guess. I refuse to leave until he gives me any info and he just kinda...throws me out a window when it’s time for me to leave.” She didn’t understand why she was getting so embarrassed over telling her the truth.

“Huh… interesting. Have you tried being nice?” Selena blinked.

“Being nice?”

“Yes.”

“Why would I be nice to him of all people?” She asked and the soldier snickered.

“Unlike soldiers, most higher ups don’t like women who are assertive and aggressive. They prefer quiet women, agreeable women.” The huntress scoffed.

“Yeah? Well too bad! I could care less about how Calus can’t handle me.”

“Yes, well I think he certainly has the patience for you. 7 times you were kicked out of his tower when at any moment he could’ve easily squashed you. I think you’re on his good side, but I bet you can gain a lot just by being nice to someone. I know you can be, you were nice to us when you first came by yourself.”

“Huh? I was?” And then something clicked inside Selena’s head. “Oh, you’re that soldier who let me in through the entrance! Ma’athuun right?”

“Oh, Ghaul’s killer remembers me, a simple cabal soldier? What an honor.” Selena couldn’t tell if she was actually honored or if she was just joking but it didn’t really matter either way. So far Ma’athuun was the only being on this stupid ship who’s shown nothing but kindness to her, something she greatly appreciated at the moment.

“Well, I should take my leave then. Good luck Gaul’s killer, I’ll see you get thrown over the castellum tomorrow!” Ma’athuun said as she began to walk back towards the main entrance.

“Oh, It’s Selena by the way! Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow!” She yelled back, waving goodbye to her and feeling content when she saw her wave back. Selena smiled to herself as her ghost materialized next to her, staring at her until she noticed.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that you’ve been in such a bad mood this entire week I almost forgot you can smile.” The hunter simply rolled her eyes.

“Well yeah, she’s literally the only person on this ship who was actually nice to me.”

“I mean sure but can you even trust her?”

“Why not? She could’ve just ignored me or been mean but she actually nice to me.”

“You can gain a lot from a person just by being nice, she said so herself,” Selena sighed as she walked back to the edge of the runway where her ship was parked. “So what do you wanna do now, you’ve been at this for a week and we haven’t learned anything.”

“Well,” She began, climbing into her ship looking forward into a nice long rest. “We go back, and we be nice.”

* * *

 

It’s a new week, a new day, and a perfect time to try new ideas. Selena walks through the castellum on her way to Calus’ office for the 8th time in the row, hoping Ma’athuun’s advice would help. She walked past soldiers who would glance at her with looks of either curiosity or indifference but none of them would ever try to stop or attack her.

Perhaps they thought she wasn’t a threat, however this kind of thinking was fatal on the enemy’s fault. A lot of damage can be done by a single immortal and revivable being with immense power against a large group of people. But Ma’athuun has said that if Calus’ wanted to he could have easily killed her the minute she threw her first insult at him, and yet her she is, walking to his office for the 8th time, with no one attempting to stop her.

Maybe it had to do with the fact she killed Ghaul. Selena didn’t really know anything about the Cabal, whether it be their history or culture, but she did know that Ghaul overthrew Calus centuries ago. There was a good chance that the emperor and his Loyalists felt a bit indebted to her. Ma’athuun did refer to her as “Ghaul’s killer” after all.

‘Whatever, it’s not like I killed him for them anyways.’ She thought.

The hunter walked into the tower that held Calus’ office, entering what seemed to be a type of waiting room which was just as decorative as every other section on the ship. The floor was a kind of marble like material that was mostly white but had streaks of gray running through it, and while she didn’t know exactly what the walls were made of (probably marble as well) they were also white and had little intricate gold details that swirled and spiraled throughout the walls.

There were no windows on the first floor, but there were paintings, all of them different sizes and different subjects. They were probably oil paintings, or maybe acrylic. Are oil paintings more pretentious than acrylic? Maybe they were watercolor. No, they don’t have that special watercolor texture that they usually do. Or maybe it’s a completely different and exotic kind of paint that they only make on the Cabal homeworld.

Selena turned away from the paintings and traveled through the elevator that took her to the same familiar hallway, and at the end was the familiar white door with gold decorating and a golden blob in the shape of Calus’ head that was hanging from the top section.

‘God he’s so ugly.’ She thought.

The door was enormous and most likely doubled, maybe even tripled her height. Luckily there was a smaller door in the larger door that was mostly likely for psions and shorter Loyalists, and it reminded Selena of a doggy door. The hunter raised her fist to knock on the door before she stopped, thinking to herself, and Polaris materialized next to her.

“I’m pretty surprised you’re not barging in like the last 7 times.” He said teasingly.

“Yeah that’s the thing, if I knock on this door and tell him I’m here he’ll probably tell his guards to kick me out right away without giving me a chance to badger him.”

Polaris sighed. “Well, we’re already pretty deep in this. I say walk in _nicely_ , which is very different from bursting in unannounced mind you, say good morning, and sit in the corner while making polite conversation.”

“You sure? Doesn’t sound like it’ll work…”

“Listen, we tried your way for the past week and it got us thrown out the window each time! We’re gonna be nice to him like Ma’athuun said ok?”

Selena pouted. “Ok fine…” The hunter opened the door to his office and to her surprise found that Calus wasn’t even here. “Ah, amazing. The day I’m finally gonna be a decent person towards him and he’s not even here.”

Polaris snorted. “Seems it wasn’t meant to be. You wanna wait beside his desk until he comes by?”

“Sure.” The huntress dragged her feet across the plush white carpet floor and plopped face down next to one of the legs of the (hilariously) large mahogany desk. She lifted her head slightly and let her eyes wander throughout the office, which was just as opulent as the last time. The window that she crawled into the first time had the purple drapes moved out of the way, letting the artificial sun shine through the room. The walls were a warm brown, which was a little out of place considering his main color scheme seemed to be white, gold, and purple, but it was actually pretty fitting.

He had several bookcases that were filled to the brim with literature, and at one point Selena had actually tried to pull a book out to read only to come to the unfortunate conclusion that it was more than half her size, and that it was in a language that she couldn’t even understand. He also had oil paintings, or maybe watercolor? Oh by the Traveler, she didn’t wanna revisit such a dumb topic. The _oil_ paintings were also hung throughout his office that depicted different people and objects. Her favorite happened to be the one of a Cabal female lounging gracefully on a couch while wearing a beautiful silk robe.

The more she gazed around the office the more bored she got, and the more bored she got the sleepy she realized she was getting. The soft carpet flooring brushed against her cheek as Selena laid her head down, and she grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around her body like a blanket. “Ok uh, I don’t think he’s gonna come anytime soon so I think I’m gonna take a power nap.”

“Selena I really-” Before Polaris was even able to finish his sentence, Selena had already shut her eyes and drifted off into sleep. The Ghost just sighed and floated over to a little nook in her cape and snuggled in beside her, falling asleep as well.

An hour or so passed, and Emperor Calus opens the door to his office and is greeted with the sight of the guardian snuggled against the leg of his desk in a deep sleep. He gently closes the door behind him and softly strides over to the guardian, crouching down to inspect her, and reaching out to softly poke her side, earning an annoyed groan. The Emperor snorts, and scoops her up slowly to not disturb her and exits his office, accidentally running into Zho’ourn on the way.

“Ah, good morning my emperor! How are-” The Primus’ eyes glanced down at Calus’ hands for just a second, but he recognized the guardian in almost a second. Zho’ourn’s look of pleasantness was soon gone and he scrunched up his nose in slight disgust. “Calus, I’m telling you this, not only as Primus of the Loyalist, or your co-advisor, but also as your long time friend. Please don’t do anything stupid.” Calus scoffed.

“Of course not Zho’ourn, what kind of fool do you take me for?” The Emperor smiled, and the other Cabal couldn’t tell if he was feigning offense or not. “I’m simply just giving her a place to rest her weary head, to let her dream sweet dreams.”

“Calus that’s exactly what I meant when I asked you to not do anything stupid.” The Primus sighed. After years of service he should be used to his leader’s radical and eccentric ideas, but it seems that the Emperor has more surprises to behold.

“Zho’ourn I know exactly what I’m doing. Don’t you think we’ve been a little too harsh on our _guest_? Leaving her to sleep in my office is no way to show gratitude.”

“Calus you’ve been throwing her out of your window for the past week because she kept bothering and insulting you, I think we’re beyond the point of showing gratitude.”

“Hmm, perhaps you’re right, but I like to believe that it’s never too late to show kindness, wouldn’t you agree old friend?”

Zho’ourn huffed and glanced at Selena, still asleep and snuggled comfortably in the Emperor’s hand. “I suppose so. Still, for someone who slayed your greatest enemy she’s a rather… big nuisance. So what will you do? Are you giving her one of the fancier rooms?”

“No, not today. Judging by her...appearance she doesn’t seem to have a particular taste for such opulence. One of the simpler rooms will do.” The Primus nodded in agreement, walking alongside his Emperor.

“You know for someone who’s hailed as one of the more powerful guardians, and as someone who helped plan the attack to take back their city, I didn’t quite expect her to be so-”

“Bratty?” Zho’ourn chuckled lightly.

“I was going to say childish but I think your definition is much more fitting than mine.” The two Cabal leaders arrived at a room, stopping in front of a white door with a much more simpler gold detailing than the others. “Well, seems I’ll take my leave right now, I have paperwork to take care of and I still need to see how our legions are doing today. Also I don’t wanna be around for another screaming match if she awakens.” Zho’ourn smirked, and gave a polite nod to Calus before turning around to start the days work.

Calus turns back to the door in front of him, opening it softly and slowly walked inside. Gently placing Selena on the bed, he was just about pull his hand back before he realized the guardian was still hanging on, nuzzling into the pad of his index finger. The Emperor blinked in surprise and observed her, chest falling up and down in a steady breath, and any sign of anger and annoyance she had towards him was gone. Here she was, in all her peacefulness, snuggled against Calus’ finger.

He sighs, a bit melancholically, and gently removes her hands from him, and exits the room to leave her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAH I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE THIS FVNJKDNV I was just so busy with this semester of school and with my job I barely had time to work on this and after the semester ended I just had Worlds Worst Writers block. Eventually the writing groove came back to me but inspiration would only hit me at like 1am so now my sleep schedules all messed up.
> 
> Also heads up but Chapter 1 will have some revisions!! I introduced some OC's but during the span of time between when I posted the last chapter and this chapter I got rid of some of them, made new ones, and revamped some existing ones, so expect a slightly different cast next time I post!! Also next chapter will have Selena backstory, Calus backstory (i had to make it up myself), and interaction between those two :3c (hopefully i dont take 4 months to post again)


End file.
